Chapter Thirteen: True Hearts Day

So, Zoe is a main character in this chapter because (1) she and Cedar are the only ones that know about Hunter and Ashlynn, and (2) because Cupid definitely would have turned to her cousin who was a daughter of Aphrodite for help with the party. The rest of the demigods aren't really going to be in this much. In this chapter I won't have the narrators talk, but I will sometimes say things similar to what they say in the episode. I tried a sort of different, fancier style of writing in this chapter, but you can still see my normal way of writing in some parts. This chapter happens one month after the demigods arrived. Everyone knows them and is used to them.

It was spring at Ever After High, and the school was alive with life.

Somewhere, two fairies caused a whole tree to grow with heart-shaped flowers. In the Enchanted Forest, Hunter Huntsman created a picnic table for Ashlynn Ella, who laughed in delight. In the school, Apple White was walking into the Castleteria, only to be greeted by a crowd of admiring boys. She twirled inside and they followed as Duchess Swan appeared behind her, only to be disappointed as no boys were waiting for her - only a little goat. In that same room, Raven Queen walked up to some girls at a table, who fled the moment she arrived, screaming. Sadly, Raven sat down at the table. Dexter Charming, who was watching what happened, took out some flowers. C.A. Cupid walked over to him at that moment, and held out her hands, assuming the flowers were for her. Her face fell when Dexter walked away from her and in Raven's direction. Lizzie Hearts walked up to Dexter with a pair of scissors, and cut off the flower buds. Cupid reached over to Dexter, as he glumly walked away.

It seemed that hearts and destinies didn't always move in the same direction.

Cupid sat alone in the library. "Cupid and Dexter Charming," she said dreamily, drawing a picture of Dexter in her notebook. She sighed. "Cupy! And Dexy!"

Across the room, one of the evil steplibrarians stood up with a huff, glaring in Cupid's direction.

As she sat down, Dexter came over to Cupid, balancing a stack of books in his arms. He stopped at the table, dropping the books there.

"Hey Cupid!" he said. "Anyone sitting here?" He motioned to the empty seat next to his friend.

"Yes..." Cupid said dreamily, before quickly straightening, a panicked look in her eye as she slammed her notebook shut. "I mean no! No, no one is sitting there, and yes, you should sit there."

"Thanks," Dexter said, sitting down as a hiss came from the other side of the library.

"Shhhh! Quiet in the library!"

"The evil steplibrarians are so wicked," Cupid said softly to Dexter.

"Yeah, last week they made me re-catalogue the whole forbidden-book section," Dexter whispered back.

"Shhhhhhhh!" The steplibrarians said loudly, making a gesture like they were watching the two teens.

"Well, look what I found," Dexter said, holding up a large magenta book with a gold tree on the front.

Cupid gasped as she took it and read the title out loud. " 'The History of True Hearts Day!' " She exclaimed happily. "Thanks Dex! You are such a sweet-"

Out of nowhere, the steplibrarians popped up in front of them.

"SHHHHHH!"

Headmaster Grimm sat in his office, playing (though if anyone asked him, he would say he was practicing) with some toy unicorns.

"And so each time a fairytale is told-" he was saying when C.A. Cupid barreled into his office.

"Headmaster!" she exclaimed, slamming a book down on his desk.

The headmaster quickly pushed the figurines into his drawer, flustered. "My dear, I am writing my speech for-" he started before Cupid interrupted him again.

"Love never waits!" she said excitedly.

"What are you going on about?" Grimm asked, starting to get confused and annoyed.

"True Hearts Day!" Cupid said.

"Where-" Grimm started angrily before interrupting himself and changing to a polite tone as he reached for the book. "Ahem - did you find that?"

Cupid happily picked up the book before he grabbed it, and started flipping the pages as she talked.

"It tells all about this totally hexcellent holiday that encourages everybody to follow their True Hearts desire! But it hasn't been spellabrated in years," she said sadly.

"And never will be again!" Grimm said, causing Cupid to gasp at his sudden anger. "That holiday is dangerous."

"But-but-" Cupid tried to protest, but Grimm wasn't listening to her.

"Some students might see it as a sign to break from their destinies," Grimm said, staring gradly out the window, not seeing Cupid's eyes widen before she grabbed the book and opened it.

"Maybe True Hearts Day is-" she said as the headmaster reached for the book before quickly pulling away as she turned to him.

"Ahem, you are not to talk about this to anyone," he said. "Do you understand me?"

Sadly, Cupid said, "Yes sir. I won't say a thing."

"True Hearts Day?" Briar Beauty read out loud as her friend Cupid held up a book. "I don't get it."

Cupid sighed in defeat before perking up and saying, "Charades!" She started to act out some things.

"48 words," Briar started, excited for a game. "A holiday that used to be spellabrated in the fairy tale world that encourages us to follow our true hearts desire but Headmaster Grimm doesn't want anyone to know about it, but you think we should spellebrate it anyway and throw a secret underground True Hearts Day dance?" she finished as Cupid nodded happily and sat down next to her. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"Because Headmaster Grimm told me not to say anything," Cupid said with a laugh.

"Secret dance?" Briar said thoughtfully. "What if Grimm catches us?"

"He won't! Come on!" Cupid pleaded with her friend. "It'll be happily ever awesome!"

"I do throw the most hexcellent parties," the daughter of Sleeping Beauty said.

"Yay! We're having a secret True Hearts Day dance!" Cupid said, standing up and yelling. Her words echoed through the school and Briar pulled her down.

"Um, you might not want to shout that," she said. "You know, being a secret and all."

Sparrow Hood walked down a pathway in the Enchanted Woods. "Sparrow! He's the hottest guy, oh!" he sang loudly. "In the fairytale-"

Sparrow was interrupted when an arm reached out and pulled him behind a tree.

The arm turned out to belong to Duchess Swan, who immediately hissed, "Stop that!" She looked around. "Come on! They went this way." She grabbed Sparrow and started dragging him by the arm as she talked. "I'm finally gonna get some proof!"

"Why do you even care?" Sparrow asked, wiggling out of the girl's grip.

"I care 'cause it's not fair. Ashlynn is breaking the royal rules with her secret romance, but she still gets a Happily Ever After and I don't!" Duchess said angrily, turning around and walking on.

"So you got a plan?" Sparrow said. "I mean, it's not like we're just going to find them in some romantic mo...ment." He trailed off as Duchess moved aside some plants and, surprise surprise, two people (guess who?) were actually in a romantic moment right across the lake.

Hunter shot some flowers in the tree and they fell lightly on Ashlynn, giving her a flower crown. She laughed happily. What neither of them knew was that some unwelcome visitors were about to interrupt their moment.

Sparrow and Duchess were swimming across the river. Duchess looking elegant as a purple swan and Sparrow looking very ridiculous with a bamboo stick in his mouth so he could breath and holding his guitar held above his head.

As the two came out, Duchess turned back into a human and held up her mirrorpad, filming the couple.

"Say 'cheese,' " she said gleefully, pointing the camera at Hunter's face.

"Ah, curses!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, hey Duchess," Ashlynn said nervously, waving at the camera. "Sparrow. We didn't see you."

Hunter joined her in her nervous laughter. "What's goin' on?"

"You two are totally busted!" Sparrow sang, causing Duchess to wince.

"Ashlynn, Hunter," she said, recovering quickly from her companion's loud music. "I think the real question is what are you two doing here?" she said as she walked over to a terrified Ashlynn. She grabbed the couple and pulled them close to her in a gesture that one could describe as a hug, but was really very different.

"Having a secret romantic rendezvous?" she asked hopefully.

"We gotta find a better place to picnic," Hunter said from his uncomfortable position by Duchess, who smiled slyly at the two before letting them go.

"Please," Ashlynn begged. "You two can't tell anyone that Hunter and I are secretly dating."

"Um, yeah, wow. Well, I'm gonna!" Duchess said, holding up the mirrorpad with the video on it. Ashlynn's eyes widened as Duchess continued talking. "Ash, this is going to knock you down the royal rankings. But don't worry," she said, changing to a baby voice. "I'll take your place." She smiled wickedly as she added, "And your happily ever after."

Hunter stood up and walked to his girlfriend as Duchess left. He took her hands and (of course) the moment was ruined by Sparrow, who struck a loud note on his electric guitar. "Bummer. Princess-to-be! Oh!" he sang loudly.

At the same moment, the other three angrily shouted, "Stop that!"

Sparrow played one more note.

The whole school was watching Cupid on her romance advice part of the mirrorcast.

"Now, my Love Tale friends, this is the part of the Mirrorcast where I try to solve your romantic problems. So, Fragile in Fairyland, what is in your heart?" she asked, calling the first person.

As part of her caller's face appeared on the screen in front of her that only she could see, she whispered, "Dex?" Cupid was shocked and listened intently as her caller spoke, stumbling a bit.

"Um, well, I-I kind of- no, I do- I do have a crush on this girl named Raven."

"Raven Queen?" Cupid said loudly. "You have a crush on Raven Queen?"

(Somehow, the actual girl they were talking about wasn't watching the show - since she believed it was kind of stupid.)

There were a lot of gasps before Dexter quickly fixed his mistake, trying to cover up who he really liked.

"I mean Rachel!" he said quickly. "Rachel, yeah. I-I like a girl named Rachel."

"Okay, Rachel," Cupid said sadly. "So you like her. What's the problem?"

"Well, whenever I'm around her, I get really tongue-tied."

"Oh. Okay." Cupid looked down at her desk, shifting some papers to look at the picture she'd drawn of Dexter. It gave her an idea.

"Look, how about putting your feelings down on parchment?" she suggested.

"That is a great idea!" Dexter exclaimed, a bit louder than he meant to, so the people watching Cupid's show right in front of his hiding spot heard. "I'll write her a love poem!" Realized how he was nearly caught, Dexter lowered his voice. "Uh, ahem, thanks Cupid you're the best bye!"

He quickly ran away as Cupid said, "No problem," sadness clear in every word.

Ashlynn was in her shoe shop. She opened a box of shoes, but they didn't cheer her up like they usually did. She heard the sound of a bell and looked at the door. There were admiring gasps, so there could only be one person who was arriving...

Sure enough, a second later she heard someone say, "It's Apple White!" As her friend came in, leaving her admirers outside, Apple exclaimed, "True Hearts Day! Aren't you just totally hexcited?" Apple walked in and sat next to Ashlynn, not realising her friend was upset. "It used to be such an important day on the royal calendar. Ah, love. Finding out predetermined princes. (Ladies, if it's predetermined, there's a 99.9% chance it isn't love)" Apple clearly didn't realise how much she was hurting Ashlynn right then.

"I'm sure, yeah," Ashlynn said, turning away from Apple.

"Oh, sweetie, what's wrong?" Apple asked, placing a hand on the daughter of Cinderella's shoulder. "You can tell me. I mean, we are friends forever after."

"I'm not sure you'd understand," Ashlynn said sadly, sounding like she was choosing her words carefully. She looked down at the flower crown in her hands. It was the one Hunter had made for her right before Duchess and Sparrow found them.

"What?" Apple said as though the very thought of her not understanding something was ridiculous. "Is it boy trouble?" She batted her eyeglasses innocently.

"Oh, wow, hey! I am thirsty," Ashlynn said, standing up. "Um, I'm gonna go get us a couple Hocus lattes. Double foam, extra apple caramel, right?"

Apple nodded happily, not realising her friend just wanted to get away.

As Ashlynn walked out, she pulled her phone out. There was something she needed to do before getting the lattes.

Dexter walked up to Raven's locker and stuck the letter he'd written there. He'd just finished it. All he had to do was wait for a response.

Dexter saw Raven and Maddie coming and hurried away, hiding behind a tree root to see Raven's reaction. The poem was planted, the girl was coming, what could go wrong?

When Raven saw it, she used her magic to pick it up.

"What's this?" she said curiously. "I-it's a love poem," she stuttered when she read it.

"Oh! A secret note!" Maddie said, poking her head over her best friend's shoulder. "Is there anything more hat-tastic?"

"But, who's it from?" Raven said, turning away from her quirky friend and back to the letter. " 'D. Charming?' " she read out loud.

The girls heard laughter behind them and turned to see Daring Charming strutting down the hall. "Ladies," he said to the girls, winking and smiling at them before walking on. Dexter gasped and his eyes widened in fear as he realised the mistake he'd made.

"Daring?" Raven said, not noticing the younger brother watching her. "I had no idea he felt this way."

As Daring walked past his younger brother, he greeted him cheerfully and gave him a head pat.

"Oh, gort," Dexter said as he watched his brother walk away. He turned to Raven and Maddie, hoping to explain everything, but the girls were gone.

Love can be very...complicated.

Zoe walked into Hocus Latte to see Ashlynn sitting by herself at a table for three.

The strawberry blond immediately perked up when she saw Zoe. The two had only known each other for one month, but they already felt like good friends.

"Hey Ash!" she called. "Why did you text me to meet you here?"

"Just sit down. We have to wait for Cedar," Ashlynn said, motioning to the chair next to her.

"O-kay," Zoe said, sitting next to her friend. In only a few moments, the door opened again.

"Cedar!" Ashlynn said, and the daughter of Pinnocio walked over.

"Hi Ashlynn. Hi Zoe. What's up with the urgent text message."

"Yeah, I want to know that same," Zoe said, raising an eyebrow.

"Is everything all-"

"Shhh!" Ashlynn pulled Cedar into a chair before the very loud teenager could tell everyone in the cafe what was happening.

"Sorry guys," she apologized. "But I need help."

"Okay, but why us?" Zoe asked. "Cedar and I seem like the most random choices for you to consult about your problems. Separately, yes, it would make sense in certain situations. But what can we help you with together?"

"You need to help us," the person sitting behind Ashlynn whispered, causing Zoe and Cedar to jump.

"Uh, Hunter?" Cedar said, recognizing the voice.

"Shh! I'm not Hunter," the son of The Huntsman said, turning around. Zoe nearly laughed when she saw he was wearing a pair of those glasses with a fake nose and a mustache attached. "I'm, uh, Gunter," the boy continued. "Gunter Guntsman."

Zoe snorted while Cedar rolled her eyes.

Ashlynn just shrugged.

"Is this about your guys' secret relationsh-" Zoe started but the others all quickly shushed her.

"You know about that too?" Cedar whispered to Zoe, who nodded.

"I found out while I was on a walk in the woods," she said, before turning back to the couple. "So, is it about that?"

"Yes, it is," Ashlynn said sadly. "Duchess found out, and now she's going to spell it out to the whole school. We don't know what to do." Hunter took his "disguise" off and reached under the tree branch separating them and took her hand.

"Wait a second," Zoe said, confused. "Why didn't you have the ring?"

"Ring?" Cedar asked curiously.

"When I found out I gave them a ring that was a cloaking device and told them to use it on their dates," Zoe explained. Turning back to the couple, she asked, "Why weren't you using it?"

"My roommate Briar had to borrow it. I Figured it would be fine to not use it for one date but..." she trailed off.

"What's your advice?" Hunter whispered, his hand still over Ashlynn's.

"Well," Cedar said, "I always think it's best to tell the truth." She tapped her nose knowingly.

"I agree," Zoe said. "With love, I find it best to be honest. All secrets come out eventually, make it your choice."

The young couple smiled at each other. "You're right girls," Ashlynn said.

Again, the moment had to be ruined.

"Gunter Guntsman! I got a triple mint Hocus latte for Gunter Guntsman," the barista shouted.

"Over here!" Hunter called nervously, putting his glasses back on. Ashlynn smiled and rolled her eyes at her friends.

"I can go get something for us too," Cedra suggested.

"Well, while we're at it might as well get coffee," Zoe said with a laugh.

In the entranceway back at the school, students were going about their day when a goose burst through the door, landing flat on his face.

He quickly stood up and brushed himself off. "I got party supplies!" he called. "C.A. Cupid!"

Quick as lightning, the pink-haired demigod hurried over, with Zoe following close behind.

"I'm Cupid! That's me!" the daughter of Eros said energetically.

"Just sign here," the goose said, sounding bored.

"This is gonna be awesome," Zoe said excitedly.

All of a sudden, a voice behind them said, "Party supplies?"

The girls spun around to see Headmaster Grimm.

"Ah, yes," Zoe said.

"Party supplies, um, for-" Cupid said, looking around as though someone would come and save her. That "someone" arrived in the shape of Briar Beauty and Hopper Croakington II.

"Our play," Briar said quickly as she and Hopper raced next to Cupid and Zoe. The four teens nodded quickly, but Grimm wasn't done with them yet.

"And what exactly is the name of this play?" he asked.

"It's uh," Hopper said as the three girls also struggled for words. All of a sudden, Hopper turned into a frog.

"It's called," he said in the fancy voice he always had a frog. "The Play That Almost Was And Then Wasn't But Then Was."

"And that's something human Hopper never would have come up with," Zoe muttered to Briar and Cupid, causing them both to stifle their giggles.

Grimm gave Hopper a suspicious look before turning around. "Very well," he said, walking away as Hopper let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"I don't know, Duchess?" Blondie said, holding a mirrorpad as she watched the video. "It is a bombspell, but Ash and Hunter are my friends."

"If you don't report it, someone else will," Duchess said, irritated.

All of a sudden, the crowded hallway was filled with gasps. The girls turned to see Hunter and Ashlynn standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding hands.

They were both beaming and smiling proudly at everyone. Cedar, who was in the crowd, flashed them a thumbs up.

"No! They can't own it!" Duchess protested. "Now I'll never get my happily ever after!"

"Oh," Ashlynn said, acting like she'd just seen the daughter of the Swan Princess. "Hey Duchess." With a gleeful smile, she held up her's and Hunter's hands. With a giggle, she pulled her boyfriend away.

Ashlynn was still giggling over the encounter with Duchess. Nothing could ruin this moment, she thought. Sadly the thing that would ruin it was right in front of the couple, and Ashlynn noticed it when a voice she usually loved to hear said, "Ashlynn?"

Ashlynn and Hunter both stopped in their tracks, and it was the voice of one of Ashlynn's best friends that had made them.

"You and Hunter are-are dating?" Apple White said. "But you're a Royal," she said, taking a step forward. "And he's a Rebel."

All of sudden, Sparrow appeared behind them from nowhere. "Totally awkward, oh!" he sang before disappearing again.

Ashlynn looked for a second like she was trying to find words to talk to her friend, but instead just grabbed Hunter's hand and led him away.

Of course, there were people thrilled about this - which was proven when Hunter and Ashlynn walked into the castleteria and Zoe raced forward and threw her arms around the couple.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she said happily. "I'm so glad you guys took our advice." she pulled back and, as cheerfully as Eve, skipped away, causing Hunter and Ashlynn to smile.

But some people were against it. After all, a Royal dating a Rebel? It just wasn't how the story was told. But others argued that Ashlynn followed her heart, which is what True Hearts Day is all about, so I say great job, girl! But people have different opinions, and this will show how different opinions really can be.

"So, fellow fairytales," Blondie announced to the camera. "Blondie Lockes here to give you reaction to the royally rebellious romance of Hunter Huntsman and Ashlynn Ella!" The camera cut to Raven, who was in her and Apple's room.

"I think it's hexcellent," she said. Apple could be seen throwing herself on her bed in the background and sobbing. Raven rolled her eyes before continuing like nothing happened. "Ashlynn and Hunter decided to rewrite their destinies. What's wrong with that?" Apple wailed in the background.

The camera cut to Cerise, who was in the castleteria. "I feel for them," she said. "I mean, keeping secrets is hard, and, um, well I sort of understand that. A lot," she muttered under her breath. Next to her, Sparrow tried to steal her chicken drumstick. She growled at him and he screamed and ran away, then she turned back forward as though nothing had happened.

The camera cut to Daring. "A Royal and a Rebel?" He said. "I think it's cool. Interesting and new." He picked up a sword and balanced on it. "Who knows, it could be good for us. I mean, there was a time when we were against the demigods, and now they've been really helping us." All of a sudden there was a dragon roar and Daring had to raise his shield and sword to defend himself from fire. "Do you mind? I am trying to do an interview here!" he shouted at the dragon.

The camera cut to Apple. "I'm worried about Ashlynn and Hunter," she said, sounding like she genuinely meant the words. "If they don't follow their destinies, their books could close...forever." One of the doves sitting by her made a sympathetic cooing sound.

Apple sat in a large comfortable chair at her desk in one of her princess classes. The bell rang as she was staring sadly at the floor.

"Remember our quiz tomorrow on tiara size and future neck problems," their teacher said, handing students homework.

Ashlynn hesitantly approached her friend. "Apple, we have to talk," she said.

"Ash, this is hard for me," her friend said. "Which is a first because I usually handle everything so very well.

"I know."

"I'm just so surprised you didn't trust me enough to tell me."

"I didn't think you'd understand," Ashlynn said slowly.

"I guess I don't," Apple said, surprising Ashlynn. "It just doesn't make any sense to me," she said as she turned away from Ashlynn. "I don't want to see anything bad happen to someone I care so much about."

Ashlynn looked down sadly.

"And so you're telling me all these heart-shaped cakes are for your 'play,' " Headmaster Grimm said. He motioned to the large pile of boxes by him and put down the one he'd been holding. He looked skeptically at the four teens in front of him.

"Yeah."

"For the play."

"You know it."

"Definitely."

"They're for the-" Cupid stuttered and Zoe interrupted before her cousin could give away there was no play.

"The really fun scene where Briar throws them at Hopper," she said quickly, handing Briar a cake.

"Excuse me?" Hopper said and Briar exclaimed. "Oh yeah - such a funny scene." She backed up and said, "I just wind up and-" She threw the cake and it hit Hopper right in the face. He flashed a thumbs up and licked frosting off his face as the three girls laughed nervously.

"Very well," the headmaster said, and they all sighed in relief.

Ashlynn was walking through Book End. She looked in the window to the hair salon. Her friends were in there, looking happy and laughing. She sighed sadly.

All of a sudden, a voice next to her said, "Hi Ashlynn."

"Duchess!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? My own happily ever after, of course," she said as she chased after Ashlynn, who tried walking away, and stood in front of her. Ashlynn just turned and walked the other way, and Duchess followed, still talking. "And now that everyone knows you're dating a Rebel, it looks like there's one available. No glass slipper for you," she said smugly.

Ashlynn turned around to face the daughter of the Swan Princess and said, "So you're happy about Hunter and I dating while my best friends aren't? Maybe I did make a mistake." With those words, she turned and ran away.

"What? No! You're totally doing the right thing! Follow your heart...and all that sappy stuff," Duchess shouted after her.

(I'm skipping the Hunter and Ashlynn breaking up scene because I never liked it. But it did still happen.)

"Hey Ash."

Ashlynn jumped, slamming her locker, and turned to see who was talking to her. When she saw who it was, she plastered a smile on her face.

"Hi Zoe," she said with forced cheerfulness.

The daughter of Aphrodite sighed. "Ash, I know you're upset."

Ashlynn wilted. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.

"Only to anyone with a brain. You and Hunter really cared about each other," Zoe said. All of a sudden, Ashlynn broke down and cried, while Zoe hugged her tightly. The two girls stood like that for a long time, with people walking around them. When Ashlynn had herself under control, she took some deep breaths.

"Hey, tell you what," Zoe said. "It's not good to keep your emotions trapped. You've cried now, that's a start. How about the two of us go to the party tonight for a little bit, and then we can go to your room. We'll watch a really sad movie, and have pizza and ice cream. And you can cry for as long as you want."

Ashlynn gave Zoe a grateful smile. "Thanks Zoe. My friends haven't been that helpful lately - they don't really understand this."

Zoe put her arm around Ashlynn and the two started to head upstairs to get ready for the party with the other girls.

"Don't worry," the daughter of Aphrodite said softly. "I'm here for you."

And so, at the sun sets on Ever After High, the students were all getting ready for the huge party.

When it was time for them to leave, Cupid, Briar, Ashlynn, Apple, Raven, Cerise, Hopper, Dexter, and Daring hurried out of one window. On the other side of the school, Darling, Maddie, Kitty, Rosabella, and the demigods did the same. All over school, students were sneaking out and hurrying to the dance of the year - the True Hearts Day Dance.

But there were two people that hadn't been invited (mainly because Zoe was furious at them for how they hurt Ashlynn, but partially because no one could trust one of them.)

Sparrow sat by a fountaine, playing his guitar. In the fountaine - which was turned off - a purple swan swam towards him.

The swan turned into Duchess, who danced over to Sparrow.

"Sparrow," she said to him. "I need you to help me ruin the True Hearts Day Dance tonight."

"What? Why?" he said in shock.

"Briar is planning it," she said as though it were obvious. Duchess clearly didn't know how much Zoe, Cupid, and Hopper had been helping. "And if I can get her in trouble with Headmaster Grimm, then there'll be a new opening in the Royal ranks."

Duchess didn't seem to notice that Sparrow was giving her the stink-eye and looked irritated.

"You know what?" he said, standing up and deciding he'd had enough of Duchess's selfishness. "I am done with you."

"What's ruffled your feathers?" Duchess asked, heading over to the son of Robin Hood.

"I, Sparrow Hood, the rockingest, handsomest guy in this school, can't find out where the dance is. No one will tell me 'cause I'm friends with you."

"Well, someone around here must know," Duchess said, ignoring Sparrow's anger.

"Do you really think anyone's going to tell you the truth?" Sparrow asked with a scoff.

Duchess thought for a moment, but then saw the perfect person she could use disappearing behind some bushes, and smiled slyly.

"There's one person at this school who's cursed to," she said as she started to follow Cedar Wood.

A hand knocked on a pink panel of glass. The glass was on a small rectangle on a large wood door, and after the knock a big eye could be seen looking out of it. The hand turned out to belong to a boy, who was with his date. They both help up pieces of paper with elaborately drawn hearts on them. The door was opened by the same person who was looking at them - and turned out to be a troll. The couple walked inside to see the True Hearts Day Party. People were dancing, eating food, and talking. But there was one person who walked through the crowd nervously.

Ashlynn didn't know where to go. She and Zoe had arrived in separate groups, and the daughter of Aphrodite was the only person she wanted to see at that moment.

As she walked, she saw a familiar back and hurried away before he noticed her, tears springing to her eyes.

At the same moment, Raven walked through the crowds until she came to Briar and Hopper.

"Wow, Briar! You really throw the most hexcellet parties!" she praised.

"I had some help," Briar said, casually laying a hand on Hopper's shoulder.

The son of the Frog Prince sputtered, "I, Uh, er-" and immediately turned into a frog and landed in the punch bowl before finishing his sentence. "-appreciate your kind kudos, fair maiden."

The two girls giggled as Maddie came up to them.

"Hey guys!" she said. "Who's DJing tonight?"

"We got the daughter of the Pied Piper," Briar said excitedly.

"Melody Piper!" Maddie exclaimed.

As though on cue, the very girl they were talking about appeared at her DJ stand.

"What up, Ever After?" she said. "Ready for me to drop some True Hearts tunes?" She was answered with cheering. "Then follow me!" Melody pressed a button and the mice she'd grouped together put on mini sunglasses and started dancing.

Briar laughed and glanced towards the doorway, and what she saw made her blood run cold. There was the shadow of a boy walking towards Melody. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again it was gone.

Duchess opened the door to her headmaster's office and saw he was being filmed for the news.

"Psst!" Duchess hissed, motioning for him to come to her.

"Excuse me," he said, walking over to the teenager. "Duchess Swan," he scolded angrily and quietly when he got there. "I am addressing the entire magical community on the Mirrornet at this very moment!"

"I know," she said, smoothly and innocently. "And I'm so sorry to disturb you. But there's something I thought you just had to know about."

"Which is?" the headmaster said impatiently.

"I hate to tell on my friends, but some students are throwing a secret True Hearts Day Dance."

"Show me where."

Ashlynn weaved through the crowds, and caught a glimpse of familiar amber eyes scanning the crowds. She hurried forward and the moment she was in front of Zoe, hugged her.

When she pulled away, her friend said, "You've seen him, haven't you?"

Ashlynn nodded sadly. "I thought it would get better over time but it only hurts more each time I see him."

"Well, we have the night planned, remember? I'm going to help you to the next stage. Eventually, you can get over him." Zoe looked like she was about to say something else, but stopped herself.

"What?" Ashlynn asked. "You were about to say something - what was it?"

"Well..." Zoe said slowly, as though picking her words carefully. "Maybe...you don't need to get over him." In answer to Ashlynn's confused look, she said, now quickly, "Look, Ash I've seen the way you look at each other when you think no one's watching. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite - and, like Cupid, I can tell when something is just a fling and when it's Love. I can tell, just from looking at you too, that you have Love. You can let go of Love if you want to - but only if you want to with all your heart. I can tell you don't want to, and I can tell you couldn't if you did. And Hunter is the same. All I'm saying is, you shouldn't hurt yourself and Hunter for eternity just because some people believe they know what's the right thing to do. Believe me, no one knows. Only the heart," with the last word, she clasped Ashlynn's hand in hers and rested it on the princess's heart.

Ashlynn stared at her friend with tears in her eyes for a few seconds. Then, after what felt like millions of years for her - but was really only ten seconds - she hugged Zoe tightly. The two girls stood like that for a long time.

(Meanwhile, Raven had discovered that Dexter had written her the note when she talked to Daring. When she was on her way to thank the younger prince, she saw Cupid and Dexter holding hands right after Cupid comforted him and told him to just be himself. She was upset and believed they were together.)

When the girls pulled apart, Ashlynn said, "I need to go find Hunter and tell him how I feel," she said. But she didn't have time to even leave Zoe before Cupid shouted, "Give it up for Melody Piper!" and everyone clapped for Melody.

"Wait a sec, Ash," Zoe said, grabbing her friend's hand. "I don't think you want to miss this."

Giving Zoe a curious look, Ashlynn stayed as Cupid started talking.

"Now, since True Hearts Day hasn't been spellabrated in such a long time, I wanted to tell everyone what it's all about. Once upon a time, there grew a very special tree - the Heart Tree." Blondie came up and projected an image of the tree on a screen. "And even if the Winter was harsh, and the other trees failed to bloom, the heart tree blossomed no matter what. And so our fairytale ancestors gave the blossoms to each other on True Hearts Day to show that even though it's not always easy, true love will always find a way.

"And so, to encourage all of us to follow our True Heart..." Cupid whistled and a group of fairies flew in, each holding a heart blossom. They dropped the blossoms on the teens, and each of them got one. "Make sure to give yours to someone special to you," Cupid finished.

Ashlynn's eyes filled with tears and she looked in Hunter's direction, only to find him looking back at her.

Zoe, who noticed the interaction, squeezed Ashlynn's hand and whispered, "Go and get him."

Ashlynn beamed and walked up to Cupid's stand.

"Can I-" she said and Cupid let her take the microphone. "Hunter? When I listen to my True Heart, it tells me that you're my Prince Charming." Everyone awwed, and Cupid and Zoe smiled at each other

The cousins turned back to the front as Blondie interrupted.

"But how can you be a Royal and date Hunter?" she said. Zoe shot her a glare, but the blond missed it completely.

"I don't know," Ashlynn said, looking confused for a second. But a moment later, she perked up and said, "But if writing our own happily ever after means I can't be a Royal, then call me Ashlynn Ella the Rebel!" There were cheers filling the room, and Apple Whire gasped in shock at her friend's decision.

Ashlynn walked down and stood in front of Hunter, holding her heart blossom. "I'd like to give this to you Hunter, if you'll have it," she said.

"Of course," Hunter said, pulling Ashlynn into a hug as cheers filled the room again.

All of a sudden, Ashlynn felt someone coming in her and Hunter's direction and turned to see the daughter of Snow White.

"Apple!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. I just had to do what-"

But Apple cut her off by handing her a heart blossom.

"Why are you giving this to me?" Ashlynn asked.

"I might be worried about you, and I might think you're doing the wrong thing, but I want you to know we'll always be friends, no matter what. That's what's in my true heart," Apple said.

Ashlynn smiled and stepped forward to be next to her friend.

"Thanks Apple. You're the best."

The blond laughed. "I know."

Hunter moved next to them and put his arm around Ashlynn. "This is literally the best day ever," he said as the couple hugged.

As the music started again, Ashlynn heard a familiar voice shout, "I call godmother!" causing everyone to laugh.

Ashlynn turned to see Zoe, who smiled at her.

Thank you, she mouthed, and Zoe just beamed brightly and winked.

On the other side of the room, Dexter was holding his heart blossom and looking at Raven.

"I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it," he said and was about to do it when Maddie came over to her BFFA.

"Don't be a worry flurry! Let's party!" she exclaimed, pulling Raven away. A moment later, Lizzie passed Dexter, took her heart blossom, and said, "Mine!" as she added it to the already large pile in her hands.

Cerise approached Cupid and Melody, who were at the DJ stand.

"Hey Cupid, have you seen Cedar?" she asked. "I can't find her anywhere."

"Oh, Cedar had something Royally important to do tonight," Cupid said.

"There it is," Duchess said triumphantly, moving aside some plants to show Grimm a large house with the sound of rock music coming out of it. She'd just led Grimm through the woods to the place she believed the party was.

The two of them headed to the house, where Grimm kicked down the door...only to discover it was just Sparrow and his band there.

"Dudes, tryin' to practice here," Sparrow said.

"Duchess Swan! Detention!" Grimm shouted.

"What? Where are they?" Duchess asked Sparrow, who's only response was to loudly sing, "You totally got what you deserved! Yeah!"

"You told Cedar the wrong stop 'cause you knew Duchess would try to get it out of her," Cerise said in amazement.

Cupid giggled. "Yep."

"And then she left me a note back in the dorm telling me the real party was here," Cedar said, appearing behind Cerise. She and Cupid high-fived.

Outside the party, Hunter and Ashlynn walked out of the big pink building. They smiled as they looked up at the moon. A second later they kissed, happy they could finally do that in public.

Now this is a happy ending. And many people's true hearts agree.

Yay! I wrote this! Just so you know, it takes up about twenty pages in Docs. It's my longest chapter ever! I hope I did a good job, and I think I helped Zoe's character evolve. I know there isn't that much focus on my male demigods, but I think that might be because (1) it's mainly girls who are characters in Ever After High and (2) because it's just easier for me to write from a girl's perspective since I am one. Please tell me what you thought about this chapter!

-Creator of Magic